Carers Week 2017

In June, Care for the Carers marked Carers Week 2017 and celebrated the important contribution East Sussex unpaid carers make to their families and communities.

A national annual awareness campaign recognising the millions of people across the UK who care for someone who couldn’t manage without their help, this year’s Carers Week took place from Monday. 12 June to Sunday, 18 June.

Jennifer Twist, CEO at Care for the Carers, said: “Carers Week 2017 was a great success, with lots of fantastic events happening across the county.

“On behalf of Care for the Carers, I would like to say a big thank to all our volunteers, staff, partners and carers who got involved and helped make this year’s Carers Week such a brilliant campaign.”

One of the highlights included a busy Information and Advice Stand at the Arndale Centre in Eastbourne on Tuesday, 13 June, where Care for the Carers was joined by East Sussex Family and Carers, Ambitions – Southdown Housing, Eastbourne Health Champions, Alzheimer’s Society, East Sussex Young Carers – IMAGO and the ICE Project.

Speaking to dozens of people, the organisations raised awareness of caring, identified new carers and provided information to the public about the range of support services available to unpaid carers in East Sussex.

The Mayor of Eastbourne, Councillor Pat Hearn, visited the Arndale Centre and spoke to Care for the Carers about how Eastbourne can support unpaid carers by building a carer friendly town and by recognising the vital contribution carers make to their local communities.

Other events included Know Dementia’s ‘Time for Carers’ event in Peacehaven, the Sussex Caring for Carers Conference 2017 hosted by the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and a Care for the Carers and Age UK East Sussex open day at their Hastings Information Centre.

The theme of this year’s campaign was Building Carer Friendly Communities – places that recognise unpaid carers and help them feel supported to look after their family or friends. Leading up to and during Carers Week 2017, Care for the Carers worked in partnership with other organisations and local carers to shared information on online, in the local newspapers, on the radio and across social media about how individuals, organisations and business can support local carers.

Carers Week might be over, but together we can continue to make East Sussex a Carer Friendly county.